Meltdown and Spectre put online info at risk

Image sourced from Google.

By Jacob Defosse

Recent news of Meltdown and Spectre, advanced computer viruses, has hit citizens with an enormous amount of data loss. Because of this, many people are being robbed of their personal information, including their banking account information.

People can’t simply brush off this issue. Users need to be informed that what is going on can not only make a person’s life difficult, but can financially ruin them. There is not a fix right now. However, anyone can get around this critical situation.

In simpler terms, with Meltdown coexisting with Spectre they both collect saved passwords users have entered, that way hackers can steal banking account information.

The issue is that the vulnerability of the Intel processor allows attackers access to computers. This affects all Intel devices from 2013 and on. What’s worse is that the virus codenamed Spectre is attacking internet browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox due to their constant syncing with other devices.

Mozilla is currently working on a way to fix this epidemic so that information stored in their browser is safe. Microsoft, on the other hand, is working even harder on a fix for the virus codenamed Meltdown so that hackers can’t access personal information.

The other problem right now with Meltdown and Spectre is that the patch for all Intel devices drastically slows down those devices. For this reason, Microsoft set up a program that makes default virus scanners (Windows Defender, for instance) scan the whole computer every hour.

Brian Krzanich, head CEO of Intel, said the company will be releasing multiple updates for the first few months of 2018. “It’s better to update and be safe then to postpone those annoying ‘update me’ notifications,” Krzanich said.

This is not always true; the reason, again, is how Meltdown functions.

Meltdown has made it difficult for Microsoft and Intel to fix updates. Their first update left people with obsolete computers having to go buy a new one because the fix caused constant restarting before users could even log in. Three to four updates later, they finally got it right. Meltdown seems to have been stopped in its tracks for good, and Microsoft is working hard on stopping spectre as well.

Meltdown and Spectre have caused many problems. However, there is a way to keep devices somewhat safe while waiting for the Spectre fix.

First, make sure passwords are long and never saved to browsers. This makes it easier for hackers to collect password.

Second, always check for viruses periodically. It’s a good idea to scan computers for virtual bugs.

Third, if you’re going to browse the web, always check that the web page has an “HTTPS” attached to the URL. This means the website is safe and secured, no hackers can cause any harm.